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Although numerous artists have borrowed from epic fantasy, rarely any have genuinely embodied the enchanted way of life. Certainly, they may decorate their record jackets with monsters, beasts, chained damsels and strong fighters, but has an artist ever needed to recover a misplaced unicorn horn from a snowy field in the midst of winter? Did a guitarist spent time squinting in the back of a road transport, repairing their own metal mesh?

Living the Fantasy

Established in 2019, the Brooklyn-based Castle Rat have had to face both these scenarios and others as they live out their epic fantasies. Starting with heraldic, catchy anthems to eye-popping live shows, outfit creation, music videos and album art, they’re not just a heavy metal group as a full immersive experience.

“It wasn’t planned to be a themed musical group,” says singer, guitarist, sword-carrier and creative overlord Riley Pinkerton as the band’s tour van travels from a full-capacity concert in a German city to another in another town – they have several shows in the UK now. “Initially, we performed twice and got booked on a October show, where I made a last-minute decision to put on an outfit. It was all highly handmade, but we had so much fun and the feeling in the room was electric. I realized, ‘What if we could have such enjoyment every time?’”

Growth of the Group

Since then, the ensemble – which showcases Pinkerton as the “Rat Queen” alongside a pestilence physician (bass player), aristocratic undead (six-string player) and secretive shaman (percussionist) – never turned back. The Bestiary, the group’s sophomore release, evokes images of legendary heavy bands collaborating to battle their way through a Frank Frazetta fantasy world – a heroic opus that places them on the verge of greater success.

The Bestiary was a first for Pinkerton in that she invited input to her bandmates. “That contributed to a lot stronger project,” she says of the team effort. “I struggled at first – There was a sense of a certain amount of pride being a woman in music going it alone. I’ve had multiple instances where I’ve got off stage and some guy will say, ‘The other members write great riffs!’ and I think, ‘Wait – I created all that.’”

Artistic Expression and Vision

With their growing popularity has expanded, so has the breadth of their visual elements. “My motto is always that if something is valuable, it’s worth overdoing,” Pinkerton smiles. Initially, she was on course for a fine art degree before hesitating at the idea of financial burden. “The exciting part about Castle Rat is there’s so many different ways to express artistry,” she says. “Whether it’s crafting disguises, outfit planning, mastering post-production music videos … it’s all stuff I don’t know how to do, but it’s enjoyable to figure it out in the moment.”

As if developing the ensemble’s complex backstory (“People are encouraging me to write it down because everything is stored,” Riley says, indicating her head) and making clothing didn’t suffice, the singer learned on her own how to craft metal mesh – a challenging endeavor, though she admittedly entrusted her brand-new reptilian-inspired outfit to a expert from NYC. “It feels like actual armour,” she beams.

Audience Reaction and Challenges

As for audiences? They loved the theatrical gore, foam swords and papier-mache rat skulls with equal enthusiasm as the band. “We performed a concert in Detroit and it looked like a historical festival,” recalls Riley happily. “The whole crowd was in capes, wool garments, metal wear.”

This isn’t to say, nevertheless, that life on the road as sword’n’sorcery vagabonds has been smooth. “Each item is always failing and ends up repaired with tape,” Riley says. “Additionally I’ll have endless ideas as to how I envision the aesthetics, but we tour in a bus with limited room. It’s an interesting challenge to give the sense like a grand epic, then store it into nothing.”

We’ve encountered additional practical issues that didn’t affect fictional warriors. “We experienced an ‘oh shit’ moment when we appeared at a Portuguese festival in Portugal and my luggage – which had my weapon in it – went missing,” says Riley. “It was a terrible situation, because we don’t have an alternative version of the concert where I lack a sword.”

Future Ambitions

In the spirit of a hero, Riley is enthusiastic about the what’s next. “I aim to reach to the top – let’s do large venues,” she says. “The main aspect that’s truly essential to me is maintaining the handmade style, guaranteeing all elements is crafted by us. It’s a component I want to remain faithful to, regardless of we scale to. Oh, and I wish to appear on a magical horse each show. You know how famous musicians do the motorcycle thing? The same idea, but using a unicorn.”